Joseph Khumalo
Joseph Khumalo Freedom Flight (callsign: Knight) was a Terran pilot of the Confederation on the . as Knight (see nametag) and Mr. Knight, as if it is his surname; in an apparent typo, the Terran Confederation Handbook refers to him as "Kuhmelo". The character is based on and intended to be the Joseph "Knight" Khumalo of Wing Commander I and shares the same history. Strangely enough he appears to be killed in the film and novels despite him appearing in later sources.}} Character History Joseph Khumalo is an African pilot hailing from Kroonstad, South Africa although Lubango, Angola was also his homelandSNES Secret Missions manual, pg 19. He was one of the more easy-going pilots on the roster, as implicated when rumors spread that he had Kilrathi sympathies, which never proved true. At the age of 21 he was a 2nd Lieutenant and fought in the famous Enyo Engagement. He was wingman to Captain Maria Alvarez aka 'la Doña'. While hugging and strafing a transport they did a tight turn going from its back to its belly, and ran right through a swarm of fighters headed the other way. Wishing not to maneuver and cut off from la Doña, he just fired as fast as possible and picked off a couple of fighters going after his wingleader. La Doña called him her "White Knight" and it was during this battle that he received the callsign "Knight" for his valiant fighting. He was married and had a wife back home. Pilgrim Uprising By 2654, he held the rank of Captain and was assigned to serve on the . During his career on the Claw Knight was among the highest scores in the sim and was at the top of the Broadsword flight roster. However he had a low kill score, although his potential greater than that. While flying, he spent some time advising and tutoring newer pilots, or giving guidance to panicked pilots during times of radio silence in order to return to base. In a few occasions he talked pilots through their first kills. Knight was sitting next to Rosie Forbes and Adam Polanski in the mess hall when Todd Marshall and Christopher Blair showed up. He flew a patrol mission with Spirit shortly before the jump into the Ulysses Corridor. Right before, he was in the mess hall and commented that the pulsar they would jump "eats suns for breakfast" Later, he was flying a CF-131 Broadsword alongside James Taggart with the Baker Wing near the Ulysses Corridor. They were on their way to attack a battleship near Planet 415 when his fighter was shot out from under him, and he was presumed killed. WC Movie Novel Cheddarboy and Gangsta were brought in to replace him and Rosie who had died in the same battle.Pilgrim Truth Vega Campaign Joseph Khumalo is listed in an article in the 2654.110 Claw Marks issue on the official date of the start of the Vega Campaign. He took an active role in the Vega Campaign when wingmen Carl T. LaFong, Jason Armstrong, and Christopher Blair joined the roster.Star*Soldier, 26 He quickly became friends with them and they each served on several missions together in places including the Dakota System. On 2654.282, Knight went on patrol near Kurasawa IV with his wingman Lightning. They were ambushed by a force of Grathas during the mission and even though Knight survived, Lightning did not. The incident saddened Knight, who wished they had the more competent F-44 Rapier II to fly with. Knight also saw action in the Venice System, where the Kilrathi Sector HQ was destroyed, effectively winning the Vega Sector for the Confederation. Operation Thor's Hammer Eventually, Knight was transferred to the Black Lions Squadron, which flew The Rapier II Knight and so many other pilots admired. After the Goddard Colony was destroyed, Knight took part in Operation: Thor's Hammer, the Terran operation to destroy the fleet that annihilated the planet. Knight was increasingly uncomfortable with flying blindly into Kilrathi territory, until he had to fly as Omicron Wing to anticipate Kilrathi forces that approached the Claw. . Halcyon deployed several strike wings from two locations to attack the (with pilots including Carl T. LaFong, Christopher Blair, Jason Armstrong and others). He became one of several victors of the operation when he and LaFong helped to destroy the , which carried the weapon that destroyed the colony. Star*Soldier, 26 Firekka Campaign During 2655, the Confederation oversaw the induction of the Firekkans into the Terran Confederation as equal citizens. Freedom Flight= Captain Khumalo attended the funeral of Puma from the . After the ceremony he sat with Bossman and Hunter in the Rec Room, but before they could drink a beer, the intercom system called for them to the flight deck; the announced its defection and pilots left in solo patrols to locate it and escort it back to the Claw. By the next week Kilrathi presence increased until Peter Halcyon ordered more frequent and intense patrols. That day Knight had to shook Hunter and pull his blanket off to force him go to duty, although he was kind enough to bring him a cup of coffee from the wardroom while Hunter was dressing. He was assigned with Hunter as Epsilon Wing, with the orders to stay close to the Claw in the usual defensive patrol. He joked to Hunter that they are assigned the boring mission because of Hunter's messy appearance. As they were preparing to laungh, Hunter was taking too long and Knight was looking for him; mistakenly he set the loudspeaker frequence and his voice boomed out over the flight deck PA, startling everybody, and embarassing Hunter who was trying to arrange a date with technician Janet McCullough. As per their orders they performed a boring diamond configuration patrol 5000 klicks out, broken only by Knight's remarks that Hunter should be more serious about hir job. That day, it was decided that the Claw should withdraw from the system and assist the Firekkans. Knight flew with Iceman as Alpha Wing in preparation of the retreat. |-| Secret Missions 2= In order to find out what lies behind an apparent Kilrathi invasion to the system, Prankster and Knight flew F-44 Rapier IIs as Epsilon Wing and discovered a new with an escort of the new experimental Hhriss. Worrying of the upcoming invasion, Prankster and Knight flew again as Epsilon Wing. They escorted and protected the Diplomatic Corps ships and on their way jumping out of the system. During this time, Knight was approached by Peter Halcyon with an offer from Confed HQ to retire from active duty and to become a flight instructor for future pilots. Ultimately, Knight rejected the offer to continue service on the Claw, and during the Defense of Firekka when the Kilrathi invaded the planet. He and his wingmen ensured that the Terran marines sent to disrupt the ground invasion made it to the planet's surface alive. Knight then retreated from Firekka when the Kilrathi swarmed the system along with his comrades, but fortunately the Firekkans reclaimed their planet from the invaders. Knight continued to serve on the Claw into the early days of the Enigma Campaign. During the year 2656, the Claw was sent on a mission to destroy the Kilrathi Sector HQ at K'tithrak Mang, in an attempt to liberate the Enigma Sector. Unfortunately, the Claw was destroyed while en route. Since Knight refused his instructor's commission, he was surely present on the Claw or on patrol at the time of its destruction. His death was sad experience for Christopher Blair.WC3 novel, Chapter 1 suggests that he died along with the rest of the crew onboard the Tiger's Claw when it was destroyed in the Enigma Sector. This dialogue appears in a non-canon scenario.}} Character Knight would be found in the Claw Rec Room eating. His name was recorded among the top scores of the TrainSim. Hunter believed that Knight gave justice to his callsign, acting like a knight and a gentleman. Knight was known for his willingness to associate with the other pilots and was a very well-balanced wingman. Contrary to the opinions of fellow pilot Michael Casey, he believed the aging CF-105 Scimitar Medium Fighter to be a reliable and durable craft, thanks namely to its thicker durasteel armor. He preferred heavy armor over speed, which Casey preferred. Considering himself a just soldier, not a talented genius, he has a reputation of utter reliability in combat and supported wingmen who were in difficult situations. However some pilots consider him unsafe as a "pacifist". He was well-liked by his peers, respected by his superiors, well-known throught the Claw, and a popular partner in the team exercises. He gave consideration to the advice of others, admitted his mistakes and his opinions were respectable. As a pilot he had a personal affinity for bombing missions. Paul Gerald attributed his low kill score to hesitation to kill for personal or philosophical reasons, which would hinder his promotion and even entrusting him with command decisions. Appearances or mentions *Wing Commander I *Freedom Flight *Wing Commander: The Movie (novel) *Pilgrim Stars (mentioned) Behind the scenes This character is only known as "Knight" in the movie credits. He is only referred to as Mr. Knight in one scene, and never by name; "Steady on course, Mr. Knight." Though he appears in several scenes (in which Knight can be seen on his Name Tag/Helmet). The fact that Knight appears on his nametag (which is usually reserved for surnames) would suggest that Knight is his last name, and also explain the "Mr. Knight" reference in a literal sense. Knight's name is mispelled "Kuhmelo'' in the Handbook. It is correctly spelled Joseph Khumalo in the Wing Commander: The Movie (novel), and he is given the same backstory as that from Claw Marks, and is intended to be the same character.'' Death Knight's bomber is destroyed and he is presumed killed in the movie and movie novels. Like Kien Chen he appears alive later for the Vega Campaign. Pilgrim Truth establishes that extrakinetics such as Pilgrims or others mutant humans may be able to develop the ability to project themselves in more place than one, not create clones per se but create doubles, multiples of dopplegangers each physically existing and each part of the whole. This is used to explain how one pilot Mango is able to attack Christopher Blair's fighter from the inside. Some believe he had died, but Blair believes he has seen him elsewhere. Blair suggests extrakinetics as an explanation of him being in more than one place at once as well as appearing to die, but not actually dieing, and coming back later. He points this out as a theory, but has no way of knowing if it really would happen. This ability may be both natural instinct or even controllable. Also adding the ability to project these individual beings into other places (sort of like teleportation) This appears to be a nod to the fans speculations about dead or disappearing characters coming back; to offer an explanation to a number of characters with similar discrepancies such as Knight, Kien Chen, Shamus and Delli Taggart, etc (it could even apply to Blair's "disappearance" during the Nephilim War allowing the possibility for his return, as he shows the ability to pull it off in the book). Or as seen best in the Blueray of the film, his pod jettisoned and escaped the blast, but was un-detected during all the commotion of the battle (but would have had to have been picked up by something other than the Tiger's Claw). When Knight is killed in the first game, the following words are dedicated to him: category:Terran Confederation pilots Category:Humans Category:Characters (SM1.5) Category:Characters (Freedom Flight) Category:Characters (WCM) Category:Characters (WCMN) Category:Characters (Pilgrim Stars) Category:Characters (SM1) Category:Characters (SM2) Category:Characters (WC1)